noun
malaria
muh-LAIR-ee-uh/məˈleriə/
A parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes that causes fever and chills.
Mosquito nets help protect families from malaria while they sleep.
Etymology
“Bad air” reflects the former belief that foul air in marshy places caused the fever. The name shifted from the supposedly harmful air to the disease itself, now known to be mosquito-borne.
In context
diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria. So that brings us to the first problem that I'll raise this morning, which is how do we stop a deadly disease that's spread by mosquitos?
More examples
- The doctor orders a blood test to check for malaria.
- She takes medicine to prevent malaria during her trip.
- He is recovering from malaria after several days of fever and chills.
Forms
malarial adjective — Relating to or caused by malaria.